April 28, 2012

Another First

Todays Prompt: The first time I... Write a post about the first time you did something.  What is it?  What was it like? What did you learn from it?


I don't know why this came to mind, but my first Lovenox injection was horrible.  Because I was pregnant and Coumadin(blood thinners) are not fetus friendly I was put on twice daily {self} injections.  Coming from a girl who would pass out on the TB prick test, I wasn't sure I could do it.

I had all my supplies set out.  Alcohol wipes, cotton ball, ice and my lovenox.  I was sitting on the bath tub alone and locked in the bathroom.  I was a little hurt that no one offered to help, but whatever.  I had watched a handful of videos of "how to do a sub q injection" and I had practiced in to fake skin at the hospital.  I got this.

I wiped the area with alcohol and watched it dry up.  I took the syringe out of the packaging and stared at my leg.  Pinching here and there looking for the best place to start.  But after touching and touching my leg, I went back over it with another wipe and let it dry again.  I adjusted the needle to a 45 degree angle and just barely touched the pinch of skin.  I about passed out.  Almost cried.  But this was going to save my life and keep the baby OK.  Suck it up Kim.  Here goes nothing, and I plunged the needle into my leg.   OUCH!  The needle just about bounced off my skin!  What the heck.  While I though I was putting enough pressure behind it, I guess I wasn't.  Now I had to try again.  It was like trying to pierce a truck tire with nail by hand.  My skin indented with the pressure of the needle.  Then with a POP, it was in.  Barely.  It took another few minuets of me sitting there with a needle half in my leg before I could push it in all the way.  And that wasn't even the worst part!

I put my finger on the plunger and pushed with steady pressure.  My leg was instantly on fire.  I stopped, breathed.  Maybe I cried a little. Maybe.  But I was already there so there was no going back.  The medicine burned so bad teeth hurt.  My back started to hurt from being in an awkward position. My butt hurt from sitting on the end of the tub and I was pumping what felt like flesh eating poison into my leg.  Once I had injected it all I slowly pulled the needle out of my leg and pushed the plunger harder so that the safety guard would pop down.  I held the cotton ball on the site even though there was no bleeding.  When I looked at my leg, the bruise had already started setting in.  Not because of the needle, but because I was squeezing so hard.

The next few injection went just about the same.  By the time I was done, I had injected myself in a Red Lobster bathroom.  In a parking lot.  In the hospital.  I recently had to start them again for a week before I had my wisdom teeth pulled. And there was only a few seconds of hesitation and then it was easy.  Like riding a bike.  OK not really.

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